The Latest: The Smiths’ new media venture; NPR crisis; Journalist, senator snowbound on I-95; Holding people accountable for mistakes

January 4, 2022

■ Bloomberg Media CEO Justin Smith steps down to found news startup, codenamed ‘Project Coda ’ (WSJ) / Ben Smith is leaving the New York Times for global news start-up with Justin Smith; 'There are 200 million people who are college educated, who read in English, but who no one is really treating like an audience, but who talk to each other and talk to us … That’s who we see as our audience.’ (New York Times) / ‘The New York Times has a 150-year head-start on us.’ (Ben Smith via Ben Mullin) / ‘...the Two Smiths had been quietly discussing their new media ambitions , on and off, for years. And it may take a decade to pull off.’ (Dylan Byers/Puck)

■ Audie Cornish is leaving NPR (Current) / ‘Some personal news…this week I am joining many of you in “The Great Resignation”.’ (Audie Cornish) / ‘Look at all the incredibly talented hosts from marginalized backgrounds who've left NPR recently: Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Shereen Marisol Meraji, Shankar Vedantam, Maria Hinojosa, Maddie Sofia, Joshua Johnson. I believe in the mission of public radio; this trend is antithetical to that mission.’ (Sam Sanders) / ‘If NPR doesn’t see this as a crisis, I don’t know what it’ll take. …we’re hemorrhaging hosts from marginalized backgrounds’ (Ari Shapiro) / 'Losing this many journalists of color is not an accident , and I do hope there’s a media reporter looking into this pattern.’ (Monica Castillo)

■ Jan. 6 committee to request Sean Hannity's cooperation (Axios)

■ 'No worries': Why Americans hate Australia's most famous expression (The Hill)

■ Wordle is a love story : An engineer made a word game for his partner. On Sunday, it was played by more than 300,000 people. (New York Times)

Press freedom

■ Detained, missing, close to death: The toll of reporting on Covid in China (The Guardian)

■ Hong Kong leader says news outlets' closure not a sign of decline in press freedom (The Hill) / Second Hong Kong media outlet folds after Stand News arrests (South China Morning Post)

"Our goal should be to distill the essence of the conversation in a way that is truthful and listenable . I liken it to photography. A photographer will go out and shoot a bunch of frames and then choose the one that captures the moment. ... Being truthful means leaving in moments where the interviewee is struggling for an answer IF it has to do with the subject matter, but not if they are simply not very articulate."

-- Peter Breslow, NPR senior producer, via "How to decide what to cut (or not) in an interview"

Manager's Minute: People get upset when I hold them accountable for mistakes, what am I doing wrong?

Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, with advice for leaders on providing negative feedback.

Watch next: How do I give feedback to someone who may not take it well?

Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos

Resources

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant, and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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